Alice Munroe (ex_barebones985) wrote in the_colony, @ 2010-06-23 13:42:00 |
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Entry tags: | ^ week 09, alice munroe, ~ series: traders |
Week Nine: Friday
Characters: Alice Munroe and Evie
Location: Siena Suites lobby.
Summary: Alice multitasks while the others work on the fence by making food for the evening's festivities. Evie stops in and plants a few seeds of thought.
Rating: PG
Alice didn’t mind terribly picking up guard duty while the others worked. Most everyone was outside in the thick of building the fences, and she had to give herself a little bit of a pat on the back for bringing it up with the traders when she called them. It was almost too perfect, really. If only everything she thought of could’ve been that ingenious.
Every so often she’d hear a snatch of conversation or someone laughing, but other than that it was relatively quiet in the lobby. There wasn’t much she could do to contribute to the overall workload, so she’d decided on prepping food for that evening’s cookout. The break room already had a small kitchenette and microwave, but she’d brought down a few crockpots and other equipment to add to the lineup. They were set up in a line along the front desk, hooked up with extension chords and a power strip. A few of them were already operating, the lids steaming up with water as Alice continued to work.
The heat wasn’t as bad as it had been, but the work was tough. But for once Evie didn’t have to just suffer through it and sullenly think of the days of air conditioning. Besides, she hadn’t had a chance to talk with Alice yet.
“Hell of a spread you have going,” she said as she came into the lobby, grinning at the line of crockpots.
“Figured I should do something to be useful, since you guys are all slaving away out there,” Alice replied, looking up from opening a bulk can of baked beans. It was only one of the six sides she’d decided on, and it seemed appropriate given that they were going to probably be grilling up meat as well. The men were going to love the hell out of this meal, she already knew it.
“I’m impressed you have so much food without much in the way of farmland. We’ve run across a few groups that were starting to struggle. Of course, that works for us,” Evie added with a grin. She pulled out a chair, taking a seat to properly enjoy her break.
“We managed to hit up the Costco nearby. A lot of it was already cleaned out, but some of the top rungs still had quite a lot of stuff.” Alice flashed her a quick smile. “Plus, I’m a pack rat. It works out.”
“Good. You’ll need it if you’re sticking around. Which judging by the fence, you are. I have to ask, though, why Vegas?”
Because it’s my home, Alice wanted to say, but the words died halfway to her lips. How many times did that make it that someone had asked her the same question? Why not Vegas? What was so wrong with it that everyone questioned her about it?
“Because it’s still running, for now,” she answered, going back to opening up the huge can. “I want to build up some supplies before we go. Which we are--” even though I don’t wanna, she added inwardly. “--eventually. It’s cooling down here, and once it starts to warm up again, we’ll be off.”
Evie perked up. “Oh yeah? You know where you’re going? ‘Cause we should try to stay in touch. Don’t know how possible that is, but we’ll figure something out.”
“‘couple people are talking about California,” Alice answered, putting down the can opener and picking up a fork to pry open the metal top. “I get cold just thinking about it. I was born in Florida, y’know? Goin’ to California just sounds like ‘cold’ to me.” She paused to dump the can of beans into the nearest crockpot, then put the can aside. They could easily grow five seedlings in it once it was rinsed out. “I don’t see why we couldn’t keep talking if you’ve got that CB running.”
“Ours will be running, yeah.” There was a hesitation in her voice but she didn’t address it. “But California doesn’t have to be cold. It has a southern portion, y’know,” she teased.
“I’m sure that’d go over like a sack of dead cats,” Alice replied, shaking her head and smirking a bit. “All I hear is ‘it’s too hot, it’s too hot’ every time anybody talks about the weather.” But the other woman did have a point. It was something worth considering, at any rate. “That where you’re goin’? Southern Cali?”
“For a time. We hear the power might even go that far, and since things are cooling down, the south isn’t such a bad idea. But it depends on what the survivors are like there. If they’re hostile or non-existent, we won’t stick around.”
Alice hummed in response, putting the lid on the crockpot and setting it to high before going to the next big can of food to open. “I’ll have to pick up an atlas and give it a good look-over, see what’s worth settling near.” She opened her mouth to add more but decided against it, working the can open vigorously. “What are you guys bringing to the cookout? I’ll try not to double up on anything.”